Self-determination

In life, there are many things that people believe in that will help them succeed in their life. Some may believe in intelligence or others may believe in a certain talent they have. All the things people do believe in that will help them succeed in life; these things require one to have determination. Determination is defined as the act of coming to a decision or settling a purpose. In other words, when you want something, you must have it, no matter what it takes you to receive it. In this paper, I will discuss the importance of determination and where it can cause a person to reach.What is determination? Determination is the most important trait that anyone will have to live with. It’s a characteristic that will encourage and inspire yourself and also those that are around you. Determination is having the willingness to accomplish something no matter how hard it may seem to accomplish. It causes people to have strength in a time of weakness. When people are determined, it a llows them to do their best and aim for their goals in life. I remember having to run the mile run in the military and we had to have a passing score.It came to a point during running the mile where I wanted to quit and stop running. I was feeling weak and I wanted to stop but I knew if I stopped running, I wouldn’t pass the run. So I drilled it in my mind to keep running so I can pass. I became determined in my mind to pass my two mile run and I passed. There are different ways a person can be determined. A person can be self determined. Self determination is when a person focuses on their own natural or intrinsic tendencies and allows themselves to behave in effective way.In other words, they focus on their own personal goals they have set for themselves and they do whatever it takes to reach that certain goal. Edward L. Deci and Richard R. Ryan of the University of Rochester believe in the Self-Determination Theory. Their theory is that determination is motivation. This co uld be true but for the sake of arguments, this theory will not be discussed in this essay. Another form of determination can be noticed in a team or group of people. Being in a team allows people to have more than one person to keep them encouraged.For example, if one person is working out by themselves, it would be a little harder to run laps or lift weights alone versus, being in a group where you have multiple people encouraging one another. Determination will always have a positive effect on anyone. People gain many different things from being determined to reach their goals. Being determined will allow one to get the job they have always wanted. It allows one to become more confident in themselves. It allows one to never give up but to always strive for what they want. I myself being in the military have taught me a lot about determined.It has showed me through determination, if I continue to strive for what I want in life, I am able to attain it no matter what I have to get t o reach it. Determination should be applied throughout everything we do in life. If we work a 9-5pm job every day, we should stay determined to do our best on the job. If we want to become an actor or actress, we should stay determined and strive to become the best actor or actress there is. Anything that we do, determination should be our most important characteristic. In sum, determination works through each and every aspect of our lives.No matter if we’re working on a 9-5pm job, if we’re trying out for a sports team or even if we’re working to finish our homework assignments on time, determination helps us to reach our goals and deadlines we set for ourselves. We should always strive for what we want and this is where determination enters our mind. References Graham, Paul; September, 2009; http://paulgraham. com/determination. html Champagne; 2008; http://www. booksie. com/other/essay/champagne/determination-(essay) Edward L. Deci & Richard M. Ryan (2012). Se lf-Determination Theory: An Approach To Human Motivation & Personality

Water Pollution Levels Turning Deadly in Punjab

Punjab, which is one of the richest states in India, is battling acute water pollution, particularly attributed to chemical toxicity. There has been an increase in the number of deaths due to cancer in the Malwa region, which has sent shock waves throughout the state. Remember, Erin Brockovich? This is a classic real life case in Punjab for us to delve into. Water Pollution: Harmful Contribution from Factories. A known environment law activist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, the man who brought to life so many rivers in the Majha area, stated that anti-pollution laws stay in the newspapers only and very little efforts are taken to prevent water and air pollution. According to Seechewal, there are many harmful chemicals, such as cyanide, that are flowing into the rivers, mostly from factories situated in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Phagwara. Due to this, drinking water sources have become polluted and resulted in widespread prevalence of diseases like cancer in the Malwa region and the adjoining areas in Rajasthan. Read this â€Å"The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead† In Muktsar, you can just find the depressing statistics in the home district of the Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal. There were 1,074 deaths due to cancer between 2001 and November 2009. In Lambi, Badal’s home constituency, there were 211 cancer deaths during the same period. Water Pollution: Shocking Levels of Uranium Content in Water in Punjab Don’t be shocked by the information given on water pollution in Punjab as there is much more. In March 2009, Dr Carin Smit, a South African toxicologist, sent hair samples of mentally-ill children from Malwa region to Germany’s Microtrace Mineral Lab. On June 13, 2010, the lab reported high levels of uranium in these samples. Dr Carin Smit stated, â€Å"The hair results are surprising. We expected an arsenic exposure. Instead, over 80% of adult and children, many of which are suffering from cerebral palsy and mental retardation, showed pathological levels for uranium. † The report is surprising as there is no apparent source of uranium in the state. Executive director, Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM), Umendra Dutt stated, â€Å"with studies indicating high levels of uranium in hair samples, the situation is indeed alarming. Water Pollution: Uranium Content Exceeds Safe Limit Suggested by WHO In 2009, V D Puranik, who is heading the environmental assessment division of Bhaba Atomic Research Center, filed a report stating 2. 2-244. 2 micro grams of uranium content in one litre water sample that was brought from the Malwa region. Let’s not forget, the safe limit suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 15 microg ram per litre. The person in charge of Baba Farid Center for Special Children in Faridkot Pritpal, Singh said that three samples surpassed the limit of 60 micrograms uranium per litre set by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Final Legal Take Away Tip: Punjab, a state that ushered in the Green Revolution and has been nourishing most parts of the country, is now suffering the ill effects of water pollution. Toxic material in water can migrate to hundreds of farms, homes, schools and places where people can die or suffer due to its exposure. Remember, Erin Brockovich? What we need is legal awareness and initiatives to be taken on priority so that the state government can save lives it is too late.

Political Crisis

The recent political crisis in Mali has something to do with the Tuareg people that live in this region and the general religion of the region. The Tuareg people are nomadic farmers. North Africa is primarily Muslim and is heavily influenced by what happens in the Muslim world. Muslim rebel groups like the Ansar Dine seek a nation that abides by Islamic Law. Others like the Islamic Movement for Azawad seek an independent state in Northern Mali and acknowledgement of that state by the world. Mali, like most of North Africa seeks an Islamic government.The NMLA (the National Movement for Liberation of Azawad) is a Tuareg lead group that is fighting for the rights of the nomadic Tuareg people. Mali’s government has never really had much power. In 1979 when the constitution was established Mali still remained under the heavy military control. Then when Mali was a democratic government citizens question the government’s legitimacy when president Toure won in a landslide elect ion in 2002. In 2012 Captain Amadou Sanogo lead a military that ousted president Toure. Also the government has had trouble dealing with rebel groups in the north.Rebel groups like the Ansar Dine and Mujao have taken control of many cities in North Mali. These rebel groups are growing stronger in the passing months, and the government has not been able to stop it. The citizens have had little say in Mali, there was a brief period from 1991 tot the present where the citizens have had a say in the government, the Malian government for the most part has been an authoritarian government. Civilian protest has had little effect on the government in place. The only groups that have been able to make any change are the extremist rebel groups that have taken control of the north.The Mali army is ill equipped to fight this rebel threat. Under president Amadou Toure, the government put their money and resources into fight the MNLA and had ignored the Islamic groups. This allowed the Islamic re bel groups to grow more powerful. Many of the rebels are veterans from Libyan revolution this past year, bringing expertise and powerful weapons into the fray the Captain Sanogo in 2012 promised to fight the Islamic rebels, but the ill-equipped under funded Mali army was no match for the rebel extremists and lost even more control of the North.There are people that have been victims of rebel attacks, some need medical attention, but the government is doing nothing to aid them. The penetration of government policy and laws to the local levels of government has been quite ineffective. Northern Mali is under heavy Islamic control and some parts have been known to follow Sharia law and other Islamic laws. There is a strict dress code on how women should dress.The National government has virtually no power in northern Mali. Mali is a once democratic nation under military influence. The nation is fighting strong resistance from their Mulism and Tuareg communities. It’s government i s losing control of the situation and has virtually lost it’s northern half to extremists. Mali’s government has problems distributing goods to its citizens. The Mali government will need international assistance to combat the resistance in the North.

Sectarian conflict in Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sectarian conflict in Iraq - Essay Example The first two pages provide an in depth analysis and commentary on the evolving nature of the conflict. It argues that the roots of the conflict have been present since the creation of the country in the aftermath of World War I by the integration of former Ottoman Empire provinces. Further the politics of the country has been based upon totalitarianism and centralized government that has been effective and efficient in suppressing any manifestation of Shiite or Kurdish nationalism and fundamentalism. After this the research study focuses on the efforts of the Iraqi and American administrations in resolving the sectarian problem. Despite superficial attempts to negate the concept of sectarianism the root causes of the conflict persist. The research paper uses the political theory of realism in order to understand the causes and nature of the sectarian conflict in Iraq. Finally it makes recommendations which will assist policy makers in eradicating the scourge of sectarianism in the c ountry. Iraq was created after World War I by the British administration by joining together former provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Three ethnic and sectarian groups, Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites inhabited this area. During the Baath party regime of Saddam Hussein, the Sunni elite had managed to suppress any manifestation of Kurdish or Shiite resurgence. However the United States invasion of Iraq and overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime has dangerously changed the balance of power and monopoly once enjoyed by the Sunni elite. Shiites and Kurds have carved out their respective zones of influence where they dominate the state and security apparatus. Fighting in Iraq has increasingly turned towards a sectarian conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. The struggle has also been a broad part of the struggle between Arab states and Iran to protect and defend their interests in Iraq. Sectarian clashes have led to the wholesale expulsion or killings of minorities with enclaves being carved out

The high salaries paid to CEOs are not justified. To what extent do Essay

The high salaries paid to CEOs are not justified. To what extent do you agree with this statement - Essay Example The high compensations are in the forms of high salary, bonuses or stock plans. The performance of the CEO has no quantifiable effect on corporations’ performances as the remuneration has little or no effect on the performance of the CEO (Lys, Rusticus and Sletten, 2007). As mentioned above, the only quantifiable effect is the widening gap between them and the other management people on whom the CEOs depend to produce positive performance of the company. In an article in Business Week, during the 1980s the average pay of a CEO was 42 times more than the hourly wage paid to a worker (Finch and Bowers, 2009). As the business entered the 1990 era, this multiplication grew to 85 times more than average hourly pay of a worker which reached the astonishing height of 531 times in 2000 (Finch and Bowers, 2009). What caused this hike in the salary of the CEOs and was this hike justifiable? This question remains unanswered to this day although many studies have been carried out on a lin k between CEO performance, company performance and the pay scale. Researchers such as Daines, Nair and Kornhauser (2005) tried to define measurements for CEO skill. They wanted to isolate the specific factor for CEO competence that can be used to justify the compensation and company performance. According to Daines, Nair, and Kornhauser (2005), the performance of any corporation does not depend only on the CEO skills or performance but also depends on other factors such as the economy, regulations, and conditions of the industry and so on. They hypothesized that a company managed by a skilled CEO should be performing better than the competitors in its industry. This hypothesis is based on the belief that if a company is managed by a poor CEO, the company’s performance will be poor and vice versa. The results of this research were informative. The economic performance and CEO salaries for the years 1990-2002 were studied which showed that small business

The Political Classification of France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Political Classification of France - Essay Example For instance, it recently contributed to the fall of dictatorial leadership of Libya in Africa. The country has experienced many rulers under a monarchy and even empire1. The political institutions in the Country have undergone several changes since the 1789 revolution. This paper brings to attention the study of France as a country and its classification in terms of politics. Regime European countries have for a long time employed communism. Liberalization in the region introduced the issue of totalitarianism2. In the period between 1922 and 1989, there were waves of democratization which were reversed by authoritarian and totalitarian systems of governance which believed in the ideologies of National Socialism and communism. This was also the case in France which is among the European countries. The regime that is in use today in the country is totalitarianism. System of governance of the French Republic Most countries have their system of governance which may differ or be the same as of the other countries. They chose between presidential system of governance where power is not confined to one person and parliamentary system of government where executive power is rested upon collective executives. Adoption of any system under which power is shared is intensely critical in the political economy of a particular nation. France has been under a hybrid system since it was made to be a fifth republic. The system of the government is based on characteristics of both the presidential and parliamentary systems3. This means that, the country partially separates the powers and partially fuses them. The hybrid form of the republican government was created by the constitution of the fifth republic which was fully in use, in the year 1958. The authority that the parliament had been cut down, and the president was embrowned with a lot of powers such as the power to dissolve the National assembly and power to appoint the prime Minister. This was rhetoric since the prime min ister had authority as the heads the council of ministers and he was also the leader of the party that had the majority seats in the National Assembly. France was termed as a sovereign country, according to this constitution. It stated that the national sovereignty belongs to the citizens of France. The constitution further gives people the right to practice their political desire in elections and referenda which took place after some specified period. Legislature of France The legislative France is entailed in the parliament. The parliament is composed of two chambers namely the National Assembly and the Senate. The two are referred to as â€Å"Assemblee Nationale† and â€Å"Senat† in French. The senate has approximately 318 members who are elected indirectly by an institution set for the purpose. The upper chamber, which is the National Assembly, is more powerful than the Senate, although both chambers share legislative authority. Members of the national assembly are about 577 in number and are elected directly by the citizens of France. The members of the senate serve a term of nine years in which a third of the seats fall for elections after every three years4. The national assembly serves for a period of five years. The charter, which is in use now, was adopted in 1958 and revised in 1962, established the Fifth Republic and provided for a powerful president, and a bicameral legislature with less power than it had in the past. The Constitution of France France has had

SEE THE ATTACHMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SEE THE ATTACHMENT - Essay Example Due to factors of its formation, hydraulic fracturing has faced critics between different groups of scientist especially the environmentalists and the miners of the United States of America. A number of bills have been passed to criticise and support this kind of method. I guess it is time for a push for these bills to be passed since manufacturers and miners have caused a lot of health complication and environmental degradation but a proper punishment have not been given to these polluters. Discussion First call; supportive argument Surely by now people living around mine field’s area none of you can deny that hydraulic fracturing has been the major cause of air pollution. Institution like the University of Arizona is supporting the use of hydraulic fracturing. In Beijing on 27th of November 2013, authorities in the capital destroyed more than 500 open air barbecues due to small particulate matters in the air that can enter deep into lungs causing health difficulty (abc News) . In a survey published by environmentalists group, 86% of those polled said that air pollution have caused health complication, 40% reported that environmental degradation have been highly caused by hydraulic fracturing. ... The university group can therefore develop various ways to improve the air quality while maintaining the hydraulic fracturing method. The environment department of the university call consider bringing together a group of experts to participate in the discussion of the risk involved in hydraulic fracturing. Â   Scientific research team from the group recently formed in the University of Arizona, the GREEN (Greening Research, Education and Environment Network) can develop research study that can help determine the impact of hydraulic fracturing and its effect to air and water pollution. The group can come up with various proof as to what cause the environmental air pollution apart from the hydraulic fracturing at the same time they can determine certain element that pin hydraulic fracturing as the source of air pollution. They as well can figure out the fact found in the research carried out in 1997, where an important study appeared in the New England Journal of medicine, the author s, Donald Redelmeier and Robert Tibshirani studied around 700 volunteers who made health as a study subject to the hydraulic fracturing effect to the environment. The participants agreed to report any non-fatal collision in which they were involved in during the research; the researchers then assessed the dangers involved with air pollution. The result was that people who were close to the mines and industries were highly exposed to the effects of air pollution fracking. Groups have argued differently, the scientist from different countries have argued that the reservoir stimulation through the hydraulic fracture is a critical element in unlocking geothermal potential energy

Sainsbury's Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sainsbury's Case Study - Essay Example From the auspicious events in the 1970’s to the menacing 21st century, the company stakeholders had to remain on their toes being susceptible to the fluctuating financial position of the company. Impact of the problems and the solution strategy on the Investors: It was all going favourable for the company investors till the start of 2002 when the situation began to worsen. The profit position of the company deteriorated in 2004 which initiated the warning signals for the investors. The fact that half of the Board of Directors and some of the executives had resigned created a bleaker picture for the financers of the company and hence shook the investor confidence. This must have created immense problems and communication gaps between the two parties involved. This situation demanded a huge drive towards relationship management in the company. The company management and executive board needed to minimize the communication gap and that could have been done by calling company meet ings and putting up issues in the annual general meeting of the company (Kehoe 2011). To boost the investor confidence the company would have to work on promotion efforts in the public sector. On the other side, the management had started to form negative connotations of the Sainsbury family’s efforts. ... There were also discrepancies in the financial matrices of the company that created a lot of misconceptions for the investors. The strategies that were later used by the company also impacted the investors. For example, the management spent ?3bn on IT systems which certainly alarmed the investors in such troublesome times. In these times the company management badly needed to find policies that could create motivation in the investors and revise cordial relationships between the company stakeholders. All measures that had to be implemented impacted the investor directly or indirectly. Even the policy of finding a target market had implications for the investors (Shah 2012). The executives of the company had to use this concept as a yardstick in the process of decision making and strategic planning. From the case study we can easily identify that the investors wanted rapid profits at this time which obviously was not feasible. Impact of the problems and the solution strategy on the Bo ard of Directors: The entire scenario under discussion posed serious questions on the viability of the company that should have been very worrisome for the company directors. The strategic decision making in these tough times was very difficult and each decision could have created a do or die situation for them. Hence prudence in each implementation step was needed to a lot of extent. The problems such as that of weakening financial position of the company must have led to people pointing fingers at the directors. The directors would have faced pressures not only from the investors but also from the employees. The point of losing market share must have popped up concerns

Non-European View of world history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Non-European View of world history - Assignment Example Driven by this self-acclaimed superiority, the emperors of the Imperial China in the 10th century started a tribute system that claimed that foreign visitors as well as merchants of other nations must pay tribute to the emperor since their emperor is the heaven’s representative and chosen by the heaven. A common Chinese view was that their country is at the center of the earth. Therefore they should be in the leading position and they were above the merchant class who were believed, in Confucian ideals, to be the most despised ones. Therefore the merchants of the west were allowed to use Ports of Macau and Canton under strict Chinese supervision and regulation. The west could only receive smidgeons of respect from the Chinese Emperors by showing their knowledge in mathematics and astronomy in front of the Chinese Imperial authority. But the other branches of western knowledge, for the Chinese, were as useless and negligible as those of the barbarians. The western countries wer e, in the eye of a common Chinese, the habitats of some warring barbarians who, at any cost, were be neglected because of their barbarian behaviors. These barbarians were so negligible that they did not deserve to be acknowledged as invaders or something that the Chinese should be afraid of. Yet the mass cultural construct was much friendly to the West. But after the First Opium War of 1839, the Chinese view of the West underwent the most significant transition. The Chinese self-acclaimed superiority began to dwindle in the face of the West’s technology based military superiority. The defeated experiences in the First Opium War was a severe blow that brought the heavenly Chinese superiority down, though not to earth. Due to the Industrial revolution the economic growth and stability as well as military superiority was high in the mid-19th century. But in comparison with the west, the Chinese economy was eroding within itself. In the face of western technology-based economy, C hinese manual labor-depended production system and economy were less competent. So was the Chinese military power. Because of the industrial growth in the West China became more important for the western traders and merchants from whom the country was potential both a market and a raw-material feeder of the western industry. Consequently conflict of interest grew between the self-acclaimed superior China and the challenging west and Opium war took place as a test for the Chinese claim. China was defeated by the overwhelming western warring capability and the ruling Qing was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing. The superior Chinese ego had yet diminished at the defeat. Rather the Qing Dynasty was trying diehard to reestablish its superiority. But though the Dynasty took initiative to adapt itself with the new trend of the age by the â€Å"Hundred Days’ Reform† and â€Å"Late Qing Reform† in the late 19th Century and early 20th century, it was too late to recover from the loss of Opium War, Taiping Rebellion, Panthay Rebellion, Dungan revolt, and a number of other adversaries. Cotterell says that the end of the Napoleonic War, the growth of industrial revolutions and the European Colonial presence in the neighboring states of China allured the West

Manifest Destiny Essay Example for Free

Manifest Destiny Essay The belief in Manifest Destiny, America’s right to expand westward, was popular among the Democratic Party, which paved the path for conflict in U.S. politics. In the 1840’s, Manifest Destiny was used as justification for the annexation of Texas, the war with Mexico, and to acquire portions of Oregon from the British. The debate over whether America really had a manifest destiny to expand all the way west or if it was used as an excuse to acquire more land led to debates in U. S. politics. Advocates of manifest destiny, mostly democratic, argued that the U.S., as a more advanced culture, had a God-given right to expand its borders. They believed the expansion would civilize the West and America’s democratic, cultural, and religious values would benefit the Native Americans. In addition, supporters would argue that the belief would strengthen the union, making it invulnerable. On the opposing side, consisting mostly of the Whig party, the God-given right to expand all the way westward at the price and rights of thousands of innocent natives was blasphemy. The Whig party was not manifest destinies only critic, abolitionist, fearful of slavery spreading, argued that the constitution did not give the country the right to gain new land and the country’s vital institutions would suffer as America was spread too thin. Look more:  essays on manifest destiny Texas’ sought to join America as a new state, after it gained independence from Mexico and had a revolution. The process of expansion in which newly democratic and free states would seek entry into the United States, rather than the U.S. extending its government over unwanting people was ideal. The Democratic Party was threatened to fall apart if Texas entered the Union, as it would become another slave state and this forced both Presidents Jackson and Van Buren to decline Texas’ plea. During the election of 1844, both Henry Clay of the Whig Party and Van Buren of the Democratic Party were against the annexation of Texas, this displeased the Democrats as they wanted to gain Texas so they dropped Van Buren in favor of James Polk, who was for adding Texas as another slave state. Polk cleverly tied Texas’ annexation into the Oregon dispute, the controversy over Oregon’s border. In 1846 the dispute was settled over the Oregon Treaty where the British relinquished its holding to the lower Colombia basin. This appeased expansionist in the north, who fought for Oregon and expansionist in the south, who focused primarily on Texas. After Polk’s election, he moved to occupy a free portion of Texas that was still claimed by Mexico. This sparked the Mexican-American War in 1846, were there were calls for â€Å"All Mexico†, mostly from Eastern Democrats, however Mexico’s annexation brought up much debate. If Mexico were to become a part of the United States it would mean millions of non-white Mexicans would become U.S. citizens, something Americans were not too keen on. The racist aspect of Manifest Destiny considers inferior Mexicans unqualified to become Americans whereas the mission aspect of Manifest Destiny dictates that Mexicans would become improved under American democracy. The â€Å"All Mexico† movement quickly abated with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 which granted Alta California and Nuevo Mà ©xico to the United States, both of which were sparsely populated with Mexicans. After the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, disagreements over the expansion of slavery made further annexation by conquest too divisive to be official government policy. The belief in Manifest Destiny in the 1840’s greatly influenced both U.S. politics and policy and is to blame or thank for Americas expansion from â€Å"sea to shining sea.†

Analysis Of Operation: Market Garden

Analysis Of Operation: Market Garden On September 17, 1944, the Allied forces commenced an enormous airborne attack code named Market Garden from southern England airfields.The operation landed over 34,600 men of which 20,011 landed by parachute, 14,589 by glider. Gliders dropped a further 1,736 vehicles and 263 artillery pieces. The operation, 1st Allied Airborne Corps paratroopers, mainly consisted of the first British Airborne Division, the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The aim was to seize several strategic bridges over the Rhine River in the Netherlands and the 2nd British Army (led by General Dempsey), in particular, XXX Corps commanded by General Sir Brian Horrock to join the airborne units by ground. The intention was to create a by-pass or corridor to be used by the Allied armies to press forward and force the Wehrmacht out of Holland. The Allies army would then push further into Germany and attack Hitlers soldiers. For a nine-day period, the Allied forces engaged the remnants of a retreating Nazi army in and just about the towns of Eindhoven, Arnhem and Nijmegen, in Holland. The plan though backfired when Horrocks XXX Corps were not able to advance to support the airborne army and the Nazi in Arnhem decisively overpowered the paratroopers. The Allies eventually withdrew the remaining troops on September 26 after suffering about 17,000 casualties and having about 7,000 men captured. This paper analyses the Market Garden operations planning and capabilities and analyses the possible lessons that were learned and are to be learned for future military operations. Introduction Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation of its time  [1]  , was a joint military operation intended to end the World War II with a decisive strike in Holland and Germany. On 17 September 1944 thousands of paratroopers descended either using parachute or glider up to miles behind enemy lines. The tactical aim was to seize a succession bridges across the Meuse River and the Rhine (both the Waal and the lower Rhine) together with several canals and tributaries to enable swift movement by armored units. To Cross the Lower Rhine would enable the Allies to outflank the Siegfried Line and surround the Ruhr, Germanys industrial heart. The strategic idea was to enable the Allied forces to cross the Rhine River, the last major natural hurdle before advancing into Germany. If the operation were executed according to its plan, the Second World War II would have ended by the end of December 1944. The operation was a success in the initial stages with a good number of bridges between Eindhoven and Nijmegen being captured. Nonetheless, the advancement of the ground force was held up by the Wilhelmina Canal bridge demolition at Son hence delaying the seizure of the main road bridge over the Meuse seizure until 20 September. At Arnhem, the British First Airborne Division met a far stronger opposition than expected. In the subsequent combat, only a tiny force was able to hold one end of the Arnhem Bridge. After the failure by the ground force to help them, the Nazi overran them on 21 September. The reminder of the division that was ensnared west of the bridge in a small pocket had to be rescued 25 September. The Allies failed to go over the Rhine in adequate strength and the river continued being an obstacle to their advancement. This ended the operations hopes concluding the war in 1944. The operational level of the joint campaign Planning British General Montgomerys plan was to employ the use of four parachute divisions to grab hold of crucial bridges over various rivers in Holland. On achieving this, he would move armored ground forces up the road that connected the bridges. After going the Lower Rhine at Arnhem, Montgomery would then strengthen his forces and force into Germany, possibly concluding the war December. His senior, Major General Ike Eisenhower, agreed to the plan. He sought to defeat the Germans and these plans appeared to hold promise. The operation plan was for a joint attack by air and ground military forces along a constricted but extended battlefield so as to take control of strategic bridges at Son, Veghel, Grave, Nijmegen and, finally Arnhem. The assaults plan of action was made up of two operations. These were coded Market and Garden. Market, code name for parachute operations, was executed by the First Allied Airborne Army led by Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton and was to seize bridges and other terrain. These airborne attackers were under Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning led I Airborne Corps tactical command. Garden operations, code name for the ground operations, were carried out on the ground by the forces of the Second Army led by XXX Corps commanded by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks and were to move north  [2]  . Market From the six divisions of the First Allied Airborne Army, Market was to utilize four. Major General Maxwell D. Taylors, U.S. 101st Airborne Division was to drop in two locations. This was in order to seize the bridges at Son and Veghel (northwest of Eindhoven), situated north of XXX Corps. Brigadier General James M. Gavin was to lead The 82nd Airborne Division, as it dropped northeast of the first division to take control of the bridges at Grave and Nijmegen. The third division, comprising of the British First Airborne Division, commanded by Major-General Roy Urquhart and Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade led by Brigadier General StanisÅ‚aw Sosabowski would drop at the far north end of the route. This division was to capture the bridge at Arnhem (road) and the one at Oosterbeek (rail). The last Market division was the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. It was to be flown to the seized Deelen Airfield on D+5. The First Allied Airborne Army had been formed on August 16 following the British requests for a harmonized command center for airborne operations. On June 20, General Eisenhower approved the idea. The Britons had wanted a British officer, and in particular Browning be chosen the commander. Browning was appointed and brought his full staff with him on the operation. Together with his staff he was to institute his field Headquarters. For the reason that majority of both the troops and the airplanes were American, a U.S. Army Air Forces officer, Brereton, was appointed by SHAEF. Though Brereton was inexperienced in airborne operations, he had broad experience in air force command and this, which gave him a practical understanding of the IX Troop Carrier Command operations. Landing over 34,600 men, Market would turn out to be the hugest airborne operation ever. Market landed 20,011 troops by parachute and a further 14,589 by glider. Gliders dropped 1,736 vehicles and 263 artillery pieces. A further 3,342 tons of ammunition and extra supplies were dropped using glider and parachute  [3]  . Under its operations control, the First Allied Airborne Army had the command of the 14 groups of IX Troop Carrier  [4]  , the 16 squadrons of 38 Group, a converted RAF bomber group, and 46 Group, a transport outfit  [5]  . This was in order to enable it deliver its 36 battalions of airborne infantry and their support troops to the continent. The Market had 321 converted RAF bombers and 1,438 C-47/Dakota transports. After Normandy, the Allied glider force had been revamped so as it boasted 2,160 CG-4A Waco gliders, 64 General Aircraft Hamilcars and 916 Airspeed Horsas by September 16. Since the U.S. could only avail just 2,060 glider pilots, none of its glid ers would have a co-pilot. Instead, each would carry an additional passenger  [6]  . The C-47s were to serve as both the paratrooper transports and the glider tugs. For this reason, coupled with the fact that IX Troop Carrier Command would carry the two British parachute brigades, market could only transport 60% of the ground forces in one lift. This limit led to the decision to split the troop lift program into consecutive days. Ninety percent of the transports on day one would drop troops on parachute, with an equal percentage delivering gliders on day two. Brereton threw out the idea of having two airlifts on day one. This, though, had been achieved during Operation Dragoon  [7]  . 17 September fell on a dark moon; days following this day had the new moon set ahead of dark. Since the Allied airborne policies forbid major operations in total absence of light, this operation would have to be undertaken in daylight  [8]  . The possibility of Luftwaffe interception was calculated minute due to the cruising air supremacy of Allied fighters. Nevertheless, concerns rose about the escalating figure of flak units in the Netherlands, particularly around Arnhem. With his understanding of tactical air operations, Brereton evaluated that flak repression would be adequate to allow the troop carriers operate devoid of excessive loss. The offensive in the South of France had showed that large-scale daytime airborne operations were practicable. Day operations were judged to have the capability of enabling a greater navigational precision and time-compressed by the resulting waves of aircraft. This would triple the number of troops possibly delivered per hour. It would also cut the time required to assemble units after landing on the drop zone by two-thirds  [9]  . IX Troop Carrier Commands aircrafts were tasked with towing gliders and dropping paratroopers tasks that could not be executed simultaneously. Even though every division commander called for two drops on day one, Breretons staff only planned only one lift. This decision was based on the need to get ready for the first drop by attacking German flak positions for half a day and a forecast, which proved incorrect, that the area would be having clear weather conditions for four days, hence permitting drops during those days  [10]  . The preparations were declared complete just after one week. (Sicily and Normandy airborne drops took months to plan and prepare) Gavin, the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division commander, was skeptical of the strategy. In his diary he noted, It looks very rough. If I get through this one I will be very lucky. He criticized Browning highly claiming that he lacked the standing, influence and judgment that is obtained only from a proper troop experience. He labeled his staff superficial and claimed that the British units fumble along and their tops lack the competence, which they never get down to learn the hard way  [11]  . Garden The garden was primarily made up of XXX Corps. It was at first led by the Guards Armored Division, and the 43rd Wessex division in reserve alongside the 50th Northumbrian Infantry Division. They were projected, on the first day, to arrive at the south end of the 101st Airborne Divisions area, the 82nds by the second day and by the forth day latest to be at the 1sts. The airborne divisions were scheduled to the link with XXX Corps in the Arnhem bridgehead breakout  [12]  . To have the airborne force fight for four days unsupported was not wise. Furthermore, the Allied paratroopers did not have sufficient anti-tank weapons. Allied intelligence pointed out that the enemy had sparingly manned the front. It appeared to the allied high command that the German resistance had receded before Operation Market Garden started. The German Fifteenth Army occupying the area seemed to be running away from the Canadians. Further, they were known not to have Panzer groups. In truth, the Germans were re-arming and strengthening in the area. Two panzer divisions were furthermore placed in the Arnhem area. The high command imagined that XXX Corps would face limited opposition on their way up Highway 69 and little armor. In the contrary German units, though weaker both in manpower and equipment still had several tanks and were forces to reckon with. Seventeen days to the D Day By September 1, General Ike Eisenhower, after assuming the ground forces personal command from Montgomery, was faced with three problems. The first was the emergence of contradictory strategies on how best to attack the Nazi forces. The second problem was the overstretched Allied logistics and the broken lines of communication because of the hasty advances. The Allies were experiencing low supplies, especially the fuel whose supply was at critically low levels. Finally, Ike was faced with constant squabbling and opposition over strategy and resources that was the mark of his commanding Generals relations. Even though a general strategy for confronting the Germans had been discussed in the past by the operation leaders, the successful carrying out of Overlord had exposed a poor follow-on strategy. Victories in France had speeded up the operation; the pace of the Allied operations gave o room for the development of strategy. Montgomery presented Eisenhower with a strategy to overpower Hitler in mid August. He (Montgomery) had been mulling over how the Allies should be handled after breakout. The plan he suggested involved a single massive thrust through Belgium and Netherlands and finally terminating at the Ruhr Valley. With expansion and redeployment of supplies from Bradley and Patton, he suggested that his 21st Army Group carry out his plan. Additionally, he wanted three divisions of Eisenhowers extremely well skilled reserve paratroopers, to carpet several cities in Netherlands. The paratroopers would seize strategic bridgeheads over the Rhine forming a corridor which the British army could walk through. Once Ruhr was opened up, Montgomery reasoned, Germany would go down rapidly since the Allies would capture major German industries. General Ike did not like Montgomerys proposal of a single thrust. He favored a broad front attack similar to the one successfully used by Allied forces during the Normandy assault. Ike felt that one thrust as proposed by Montgomery would easily reveal the plans of the Allied forces. With a dual pronged approach, the Nazi would have to take a guess on where the next assault would be. The second problem for Eisenhowers, and perhaps more pressing was the logistical problem. Something had to be done about the long supply lines. The fuel shortages and insufficient transportation had to be dealt with first. The Allies were receiving supplies through the beaches of Normandy but there was a shortage of trucks to transport the necessities to the armies. The deteriorating weather was making unloading the supplies on the landing beaches almost impossible. Ike urgently required a deep-water port to move supplies to the battlefront. Additionally, as the Germans moved back they destroyed most of shipping infrastructure on the coastal harbors. The regular wrangling and competition amongst Ikes generals aggravated the situation. Other Generals profiled Montgomery as difficult. His pitch for a single thrust operation strengthened the animosity feelings. Montgomery ceaselessly complained to Ike about the quantity of supplies his soldiers received. He was constantly pressing for precedence on fuel and ammunition. After Ike assumed personal command of the ground operations in Europe, the state of affairs deteriorated. A divisive command problem arose out of this decision. Montgomery could not be appointed the Supreme Allied forces commander due to political reasons. This was despite the fact that he was a distinguished military leader with experience from not only North Africa but also in Overlord. Montgomery wanted to be appointed the ground armies commander and lobbied Ike hard for the same. Eisenhower chose to retain the duty and as such, he continually met open defiance from Montgomery and a few number of his British Generals. Montgomery imagined that he was a more qualified commander and for this together with the command and control issue, antagonistically opposed Eisenhower on almost all-tactical decisions. This explicit contempt created a lot more tension, distrust, and turmoil in the Allied camp. Up until now, a very patient Eisenhower never acted on Montgomery. It was after Market Ga rden commenced that he threatened to escalate the issue to Marshall and Churchill. Montgomerys Chief of Staff at last settled the matter before Ike escalated it hence sparing Montgomery the sack. General Eisenhower approved to the Montgomery plan on 4 September after review. This was in part an attempt to calm and tone down the belligerent Montgomery and chiefly as after realization that it was a chance for him to seize a deep-water port. The Market Garden plan was audacious and risky. It was uncharacteristic of the usually conservative Montgomery. After the approval, Ike provided General Montgomery with semi permanent fuel and ammunition supply priority. He then moved the US 1st Army commanded by General Hodges to the British southern line, until Antwerp was secured by the Allies. He wanted the remaining Nazi resistance on the ports of Antwerp and Le Havre cleared. This would give his forces the vital deep-water ports, hence considerably reducing the time of delivery for important war reserve resources to the front line forces. The sustainment essential for the next stage of the operations, that is, the march into Germany and the seizure of Berlin, had to be covered. This was dependent upon successful capture of a port with a capacity of supporting a force of over two million men. Antwerp was the only European port capable of that. Montgomery was incensed with the proposal of a double thrust, which incorporated the Saar valley. On September 4, Montgomery captured the port of Antwerp. Ike then, against the wishes of his staff, allowed Montgomery to move into Belgium without clearing the pockets of Nazi resistance in Scheldt Estuary. He was also convinced by Montgomery to permit Market Garden to go ahead as scheduled instead of delaying the operation to clear the port as was proposed by Bradley and Patton. The Operation On 17 September, in the afternoon, Operation Market Garden commenced. The American 101st airborne division parachuted on the southern end while the American 82nd Airborne dropped to the north and attacked the Waal River Bridge at Nijmegen. The British First Airborne division together with the Polish brigade attacked their target, the bridges at Arnhem, further north. After all the three airborne divisions were on the ground, the British XXX Corps embarked on their assault and drove up the road. It was estimated that the XXX Corps would take no more than 3 days to arrive at the British at Arnhem. For the previous Allied airborne operations, drop zones for the paratroopers and gliders were as a rule of thumb as close to the target as could be so to elicit maximum surprise and to allow the enemy less reaction time to recover. The American drop zones for this offensive were no different. However, the British 1st airborne drop zones were far away from the target, i.e., the crucial bridges . They wanted to circumvent taking casualties to their planes by flying over what they imagined might be anti-aircraft guns concentration in the area. The bridges were in built-up zones so gliders could of course not land. Additionally the ground to the south of the bridges was imagined by the British generals to be too soft for gliders entirely discounting the fact that the Polish paratroopers would be dropping in the very same zone later. The drop zone selections led to the landing of some paratroopers of the First Airborne on top of the Nazi 10th SS Panzer Division. After landing, divisional radio sets were found to be tuned into the wrong frequencies. This made radio communication between units impossible. A small part of the British troopers contingent took the main Arnhem highway bridge on the north end. However, intense battle barred reinforcement for this small force. On the southern end of the river, the ninth SS Panzer controlled the bridges other end. Finally, the small British army at the bridge gave way to the superior Nazi forces. The rest of the division resiliently hung on in a small pocket on the rivers north a few miles away from the bridge. The polish troopers who parachuted on the south side of the river could not provide any significant backing. They merely fought to save their lives against the now fully alerted Nazi forces. The first day was aeronautically splendid for an airdrop. As the days went on, the weather conditions deteriorated. The second wave was unable to drop for a further four more days. To the south, the first gains of the 82nd and 101st divisions Grave and Nijmegen seized bridges with minimal losses. The American 82nd Airborne took the Nijmegen Bridge the execution of an audacious river crossing in collapsible boats to assault and seize the bridge from the back. However, the XXX Corps joined them after number of days had passed. The highway connecting the bridges up to Arnhem steadily under counter attack by the Nazi forces and this caused many delays. Sections of this highway, to make matters worse, resembled an island on a dike and had with no maneuvering room. A single shot that took out the lead tank in a column could lead a delay going on for hours. Adequate infantry was not allocated to escort the tanks that were in the leading columns. It was taken that the American paratroopers w ould take up this task. However, the Americans had their own worries of keeping the corridor free of the Nazi attacks. This compromised the progress of XXX Corps after they crossed the Nijmegen Bridge and came to deal with the island road. More infantry was required; however, it was just not obtainable. As a result, XXX Corps assault stalled. The British First Airborne, on their part, just a few miles away across the river, was being chewed to bits. In time, the British First Airborne had to be withdrawn and evacuated from their front on the Lower Rhine through an audacious night rescue operation. The intention to oust the Nazi and perhaps end the Second World War by charismas had gone up in smoke. After nine days of fierce battle, the Allies withdrew. Incapable of rescuing their captured personnel, a large number of casualties and prisoners had to be forsaken. The Final Analysis The outcome rendered the Market Garden a nonviable operation. The objective was attainable but the strategy was full of flaws. For starters, the idea ended up to be hard one. The planners imagined that seizing the bridges would be as easy the seizure of the French bridges. Montgomery and the Allies, however, misjudged the incredible tenacity of Hitler and his Nazi army. Intelligence reports that Hitler soldiers along the Alhert Canal in Belgium, the Siegfried Line and in Arnhem had re-armed were received but disregarded by Montgomery. Additionally, Eisenhower was informed about the Nazi fortification; however, he did not personally challenge the plan on the bases of the intelligence reports. Alternatively, he opted to send Bedell Smith to Montgomery. Montgomery laughed of the idea of the aim was difficult simply for the reason that there were reports of Nazi tank potency at Arnhem. He would hear nothing about revising Market Garden  [13]  . Montgomery did not realize that there w as a terrain and topography variation between the lower Rhine and France. This meant the fact that a similar operation succeeded in France did not imply it would succeed in Holland. Roads were usually constricted and constructed on top of dikes. Road sections that were not raised flooded regularly slowing movements due to the clay mud. Additionally, the swampy, muddy land made maneuvering of the heavy gear hard. Ignoring his staffs counsel and Dempseys apprehension for a well-timed meeting with the paratroopers, Montgomery stubbornly pushed forward. Had intelligence report been paid attention to, the operation may perhaps have been discontinued or at least deferred. The narrow corridor did not afford Dempsey much room for maneuver and restricted his flexibility and ability to pull a surprise. In addition, the strategy was devoid of any air component except fighter escort and gliders transports. Modest coalition coordination was exercised in the preparation for operation Market Garden. Montgomery simply passed on the plan to his men for implementation. When Major General Maxwell Taylor voiced his oppositions to the landing zone for his men, Montgomery replied that was too late for the plan to be changed. Major Gen Roy Urquhart met the same lack of cooperation  [14]  . The strategy employed presumed that enough petroleum and ammunition would be available to carry out the plan. Montgomery was interested more in Bradley and Pattons fuel instead of taking the time to drive out the Nazi from the Scheldt Estuary. Seizing Scheldt wo uld have opened up Antwerp to supplies for the Allied. Further, Bradley and Pattons to the south could have diverted the Nazi manpower and resources and that would support Ikes extensive front approach. Not only was the strategy flawed, the resources were inadequate too. First, it was tactically naÃÆ' ¯ve and logistically erroneous to move through Antwerp without weakening pockets of Nazi resistance. The Nazi fight back proved heavy more so in the Scheldt Estuary, the key North Sea access. This barrier was not removed until November 1944. The failure to do so deprived the Allies of the badly required deep-water port. This reduced logistics lines and it was a blow to any more operations in Germanys interior. The inability to get rid of resistance also hindered Dempseys movement since he had to reroute combat troops to guard his flank. The airdrop was logistically hindered by having inadequate aircraft (transport and glider) to make a single jump as Montgomerys plan called for. The First Airborne even lacked sufficient radios for communication within themselves. When the second wave finally arrived, it was ill equipped to deal with the Panzer SS toughened threat. Bad weather caused the second wave delay foiling their plans of landing on D-Day. Though the weather conditions were fine for the first drop, it caused resupply and reinforcements delays for the Arnhem troops. The Germans took advantage of the poor weather exploiting the time to reinforce their manpower and other resources to respond to the Allies. As such, the aspect of Market Garden considered being the operation strength, the crack paratroopers, ended up limiting the Allied success severely. Montgomerys casual outlook toward the opposition meant the failure of the most effective tool available to the Operation. It is incomprehensible why Montgomery chos e to pay no attention to his brilliant and experienced men. He casually dismissed justifiable issues raised by experienced infantry and airborne officers. Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski articulated his fears to Montgomery that the plan to land his troops at Arnhem was catastrophic and that higher-ranking officers were culpable of reckless overconfidence  [15]  . Officers could do nothing to change his position and only sat in quiet frustration and follow orders. The only officer reputed to be capable of swaying Montgomery, Major General Freddie De Guingand, was outside Europe. It is important to point out that even though Montgomery was seen to be arrogant, it might have been with a good reason. He had been commanding ground forces during triumphant North African operation and Operation Overlord. To be fair to Montgomery, the Allies as a group exhibited this same overconfidence. They had been calmed into this joint cockiness and arrogance due to the swiftness with which their conquest came. The excitement of the operation led men to calm down extremely. Exhaustion and loss of focus started creeping on the mission. As evidenced by the consequent preparation and logistical shortfalls of the operation, the intelligence was misleading and gave the impression that the Nazi were severely weakened. With no sense of pressure, acute fatigue, and the consequent loss of focus, situations came up where troops moved with insufficient resources. The impetus and thrilling buoyancy by the Allied victories changed the force from what would have been a success, into an exag gerated and unfocused bunch thereby sustaining major and avoidable losses of gear and personnel. The strategy demanded the army to grab the initiative and hit speedily and surprise the worn out and inadequately prepared Nazi. Hitler, in hindsight, had correctly expected that Montgomery would head north to the Zuider Zee. He countered by placing Field Marshall Walter Model, his strongest general, in that front. Model at once lined up troops and started efforts to re-arm for the expected battle. He coordinated strategic barricading of highways and canals, and took the advantage of the weather and the Allies lack of the capacity to resupply and reinforce. He not only was able to hold the Arnhem Bridge, but also the city. His vigor and organizational brilliance were the reason the Nazi was able to hold off Market Garden. To sum up this misadventure, the timing required to scheme a speedy thrust was uncoordinated due to the unanticipated fight back by committed Nazi soldiers; the failure to drop the second batch of paratroopers owing to bad weather; the utter disregard with which intelligence reports were met with; and the poor communication. A combination of these factors created the worst Allied defeats of the time. Lessons from the defeat Operation Market Garden, without a doubt the biggest paratroop drop of its time, was also one of the most terrible operational failures. What strategy, or lack of it, could have resulted to such an unbelievable failure for the Allies? What lessons learned can apply to the contemporary and future military operations? Some timeless lessons are evident from the operations analysis: The first lesson applies at the strategic level. That it is necessary for military planners to stay focused on the political causes of a war. They must by no means lose sight of the political motivation of the primary conflict. The states political will and national interests will always play a major role in the coalition strategy development. For the reason that the US contributed the greater part of machinery, manpower, and finances to the Allied war effort, Eisenhowers appointment ahead of Montgomery as the ultimate Allied Commander was logical. He was always sensitive to political and higher-ranking milit

An Evaluation Of Agglomeration Economics

An Evaluation Of Agglomeration Economics There are a number of advantages that may be enjoyed by firms who locate near other firms. These advantages are known as agglomeration economics or external economies of scale. (Helsley 2003) These advantages are known as external because they do not arise from the company itself, but from the external environment. Similar businesses that locate close to each other can produce more efficiently and at a lower cost due to their ability to specialize, access to resources, decrease in transportation and access to knowledge and information. Two examples of areas that have benefited from the agglomerating of economies are the oil and gas industry in Alberta and the Auto industry in Detroit. These industries arose in their specific locations for different reasons but both share the common conditions of economies of scale and agglomeration economics. Both of these industries take advantage of the locations by producing more efficiently and maximizing profits. The Oil Industry in Alberta The most renowned oil discovery in Alberta that really propelled the industry was made by Imperial Oil 1n 1947 when they struck oil near Leduc. (ucalgary.ca) Oil was however discovered in Alberta much before then. In the 1910s a farmer at Okotoks discovered gas and then later in the 1930s oil was discovered beneath the gas fields. Because of these two discoveries international oil companies began operations in Alberta, and in 1923 and 1939 Imperial Oil and British America Oil built refineries in Calgary. In 1938 the Alberta government set up the Alberta Energy Conservation Board in 1938, this led the way for Calgarys development of being the main administration center for the oil and gas industry in Alberta. These early discoveries helped turn Alberta from one of the poorest provinces in the Nation into the multibillion dollar empire that it is today. The reason that the oil and gas industry settled in Alberta was because of geographic location, this is where the bulk of the oil and gas in the county resides. Because this industry is based on extraction and processing of a raw resource it needed to locate where the resource is. However government policy has also helped shape the industry. Government policy, both at the provincial and federal levels have impacted the oil and gas economy. Like I previously mentioned the provincial government in 1938 set of the AECB and this chose Calgary as the main administrative head for the industry. More recently other government programs have also helped shape the industry by opening up markets and access to labor, NAFTA is an example of this. Once the industry starts growing it creates many positive externalities that fuel the feedback loop which in turn grows the economy some more. There are now several areas of the province that have specialized even further and are now seeing their own agglomeration economics some examples of this are the oil and gas headquarters in downtown Calgary and Albertas Industrial Heartland north east of Edmonton. This area consists of many companies specializing in the petro chemical industry. These companies locating in close proximity greatly reduces their pipe line costs because they can all share one major pipeline and then just build minor lines to each of their plants. In Calgary having so many companies in close proximity greatly increases the speed to which communications and knowledge can be transferred and it also greatly reduces search costs for firms looking for skilled labor. Having the oil industry focused in Alberta has also helped in greatly expanding research and training pro grams for the industry. Much of this has been developed out of necessity because extraction is becoming more and more difficult and companies need to specialize further and further, directional drilling and the oil sands are examples of this. The oil industry has grown into one of the most influential sectors in the county, and has left Alberta, with its newly found financial security to be admired. There are many factors such as a stable government, government programs and incentives and new knowledge and technologies that have all helped shape the industry into what it now is. However it is impossible to try and over look the obvious fact that the industry is located where it is because of access to the valuable resource beneath Albertas soils. Alberta has been able to create this powerful agglomerated economy because of the simple fact that the province contains massive reserves whether they be shallow gas or the Oil Sands of Fort McMurray. Detroits Auto Industry Detroit or Motown is the leading Vehicle manufacturer in the United States. It was not always this way however. The first gas powered automobile was manufactured is Springfield Massachusetts in 1896. The first automobile to be built in Detroit was manufactured by Olds in 1899. But by 1904 42% of automobiles were built in Detroit and then by 1914 this number rose to 78%. (McDonald 2007) From 1900 to 1930 the population of Detroit grew rapidly from 305 000 to 1 837 000 people this was greatly related to the fact that by 1929 the Auto Mobile industry in Detroit was the largest industry in the Country. In 1909 there were over 200 automobile manufacturers in the United States this number however dropped rapidly until it was basically just the three based out of Detroit; General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. There are a few other factors that some have contributed to the successes of Detroit, such as the fact that Detroit is a major shipping port and this would give them access to cheap trans portation of raw resources, parts and markets. While geographic location may have played a minor role in the Auto industry in Detroit it is widely recognized that it is not a key element in Detroits success. (Klepper 2001) The main reason is just the fact of Agglomeration Economics. Early automobile manufacturers were set up all over the county, the ones that became the most successful just happened to be the ones that were setup in close proximity. Detroit already had a shipping industry which meant that there was already skilled mechanics that knew gas engines, this gave the auto industry access to these skills. There was also already manufacturers in place that could build engines and parts. Because there were so many manufacturers in close proximity this is were people began moving to find work, because with so many companies close together it created the highest odds of finding a job. There was also spill over knowledge that other companies could learn from, such as Henry Fords famous invention the assembly line. This greatly decreased cost and speed up the time in which an auto could be manufactured. In 1910 it is said that the assembly line lowered the cost to produce one Model T from $780 $360. (McDonlad) Once the other manufactures in Detroit saw the great success of this they soon implemented assembly lines. 2 There are many benefits to businesses that relocate to a place where there is an agglomerating economy. The most obvious advantage is economies of scale. When an industry grows large enough companies start to specialize. When a market is large enough and companies start to specialize then costs are reduced. In the auto industry if there are part manufacturers and that is all they specialize in then the auto manufactures may be able to buy products such as bearings for less than they could produce them internally. Or for say the oil industry there might be some sort of drilling problem and a company needs a special piece of machinery, it doesnt make since for them to buy it for just one problem but there is probably another company that has specialized in that piece of machinery so it is cheaper just to hire them. Production costs are also greatly reduced in an agglomerated economy because of a reduction in transportation costs, both of people and material. In the case of the Industri al Heartland they can all share pipeline costs instead of having to all build their own, this greatly reduces costs. As well if there is enough industry located in an area it also may become more economical to have a rail line put in. As well it makes more sense to have refineries built in Alberta because this is where the oil production is so it saves on shipping raw resources. As well in both instances it greatly reduces on the cost of the transfer of knowledge. When an automobile company has a great new idea or a production technique and you are located near them, then the likely hood of finding out about the idea and benefiting from it is much higher. As well in either instance if you have a problem and need help there is probably someone close to you that has had experience dealing with that issue, or there might be specialized think tanks set up for the industry. When you are working in an area that is very technical it is important to have access to the best minds and new tec hnology. As well when you have all of this knowledge and experience at your finger tips it doesnt feel as if youre alone, you are working under years of past experience that has greatly reduced the risk for your business in the industry. In this case there is a major advantage compared to someone opening a business far away from the major area of influence. As well as there being benefits to the business and industry as a hole there are also advantages of agglomerated economies for employees. For instance if you were looking for a job in an automobile factory, you would prefer to go to a city where that are 5 factories then go to a city with only one, your chances of successfully finding a job increase if there are more possible positions. As well when there are more jobs in an area an employee can pick and choose and find the position that most closely matches his or her skill set and desires. If there are more jobs this also increase opportunities for an employee to leave and go and work for the competitor this causes employers to have to increase pay or working conditions in order to retain their employees. There are other positive externalities along with this, once workers start to concentrate in an area then other amenities such as restaurants and shopping malls will follow. Agglomeration, however, may have a few drawbacks. It may cause an area to become to undiversified, such as Alberta we just recently witnessed that a drop in the price of oil causes a relapse in the entire province. Or for Michigan a drop in Auto production has caused a collapse in almost the entire city. Since 2000 there has been a decline of over a half million jobs in Detroit this has left vast areas of the city vacant and there is even entire office buildings in Detroits downtown which have been left vacant. As well there is a term called dissagglomeration (Fritzgerald 200) In this instance a region becomes so successful that it loses its cost savings appeal. An example of this is when it becomes so competitive in an area that it drives real estate prices so high that it becomes no longer economical to locate in that area. This has become evident for many workers in Alberta, housing prices have skyrocketed in areas such as Calgarys downtown and employees now have to make major com mutes. As well along with booming business and successful employees comes the proliferation of crime and human density increases and congestion. 3 In respect to the two examples of agglomeration used above they have affected their respective regions differently. Albertas oil patch is booming along with this there is an abundance of well paying jobs. We have seen an increase in the number of engineers and other educated students want to enter this field, however we have seen an even larger number of students either drop out of high school or go straight from high school to the oil industry because education is not needed in order to get a well paying job. So, over all there seems to have been a decline in the importance of a post secondary education. There has also been an increase in movement of Canadas uneducated into Alberta to find jobs. The population density in Alberta has drastically increased due to the Oil industry and this has brought problems such as pollution with it. However, even though there are some drawbacks the Oil and gas Industry definitely needs to be attributed to the financial success and national importan ce of Alberta. In Detroit however it seems to be a different story. Historically the affects would seem to have been the same, Detroit was highly successful attracted a lot of employees and would have been extremely nationally important because it was contributing so much to the economy. Now however Detroit seems to be dying. The reason for this is the slowdown in the Auto industry. The crash of the Auto industry cannot be linked to agglomeration, the crash of Detroit however can be partly. Because of agglomeration Detroit did not diversify its economy very well the Auto sector seemed too powerful and lucrative to worry, now however with the slow down, we are seeing massive layoffs and vacant homes. Part 2 1 This clustering of businesses would be considered examples of agglomeration economies. However I feel that not to the same extent, because they would not experience as many benefits as the agglomeration of an entire industry. They do however reduce some costs and have some added benefits. By clustering business can better monitor market trends, monitor their competition, as well they may be able to cluster in terms of safety and to help watch and guard each others merchandise and lots. The big benefit though is that a multiple of stores can better attract customers then a single store off by itself. By clustering consumers can spend less on transportation and they will be more inclined to visit the area with the most stores for shopping ease. Because of the scale there are some benefits that I feel they do not get to experience, such as a decrease in start up costs and a decrease in raw material costs. Two examples of this type of agglomeration would be the Auto Mile in Wetaskiwin Al berta; A Toyota City B Pioneer Chrylser Jeep D Schwabs Chevrolet F Denham Ford Sales G Spruce View Motors H Union Motors As well as bars along the red mile in Calgary, 17th ave sw; Left to Right: Morgans Pub Mugs Restauraunt Beckhams Pub Watchmans Delivery Red Mile Creamery Desserts Melrose Cafà © Bar Ship Anchor Pub Bob the Fish Tavern Rose Crown Pub The Auto Mile in Wetaskiwin is well known and is recognized by its own Advertisement Cars cost less in Wetaskiwin. This shows that the area is not just known for a single dealership, it is known because there is many dealerships together and that attracts business. As well it is the same for the Red Mile customers want to go and walk down 17th ave because there is a lot of pubs and restaurants. Because there is a variety it attracts more customers then if there were just one business, even though when there are many businesses they will have to compete for business. 2 Harold Hotellings model is based mostly on transportation costs and price. Rather than positive externalities of being side by side. Hotelling assumes that customers choose were to purchase their product based on the cost of the good plus transportation, add these together and pick the less expensive. Because of this firms will set up in the same central location to maximize exposure and avoid being placed between two other stores and getting squeezed out. According to Hotelling firms choose their location based strictly on maximizing the amount of people in their area relative to the competition. Two examples of this are Fast Food restaurants and gas stations. In both these cases competitors either tend to be side by or across the street from each other. So even though in both of these cases it is the firms locating close to one another it is for very different reasons. In the Hotelling theory firms cluster for competitive reasons and in agglomeration economics they cluster for the economic benefits and economies of scale. 3 Benefitting from clustering or not is most likely a case by case scenario. It will not be the same for all types of industries and will need to be calculated on a case by case basis. No matter what the case, competition will increase by clustering and this should lower prices. In the Hotteling model the decreased prices are offset by the increased customer base that clustering creates so it all depends on whether or not this does indeed offset the reduced prices. Agglomeration economies on the other hand benefit from reduced costs, greater people, information etc. In agglomeration economics the benefits are always supposedly positive otherwise they would not hold true and business would relocate to be close to one another. The Hotelling model is based on competiveness where as agglomeration economics are based on maximizing benefit. 4 I believe that whether or not firms cluster and how they benefit from it or not is largely dependent on what level of the economy they are in and what type of good. It would seem that manufacturing level firms would benefit from clustering through agglomeration economics. These are the firms such as oil and gas refineries and automobile manufacturing. They have highly substitutable products and they do not market to the end consumer, and therefore would greatly benefit from the reduced costs. Where as an industry like the clothing stores market directly to the end consumer and therefore benefit from increased exposure and differentiation and therefore benefit from clustering through the Hotelling model. The areas within a city where this type of clustering occurs are normally very high traffic areas with lots of people. In terms of agglomeration economics I do not feel that a large anchor tenant is required, these businesses are generally not looking for attention they are just wanting to produce at a low cost. Where as in an area with clusters of consumer goods stores, an anchor tenant may be helpful. But I do not know if it would be necessary. If for instance a large store may not need to be in a cluster, they might attract enough attention by themselves and people will travel, where as if you a minor store then you probably would need to be a cluster to attract business to your store.

Political Parties in the United States Essay -- Papers USA Government

Political Parties in the United States When the founders of the American republic wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they did not envision a role for political parties in the governmental order. Indeed, they sought through various constitutional arrangements such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and indirect election of the president by an electoral college to insulate the new republic from political parties and factions. In spite of the founders' intentions, the United States was the first nation to develop parties organized on a national basis and to transfer executive power from one faction to another via an election in 1800. THE EMERGENCE AND PERVASIVENESS OF POLITICAL PARTIES The development of political parties was closely linked to the extension of the suffrage as qualifications requiring property ownership to vote were lifted during the early 1800s. With a vastly expanded electorate, a means was required to mobilize masses of voters. Political parties became institutionalized to accomplish this essential task. Thus parties in America emerged as a part of this democratic revolution, and by the 1830s were a firmly established part of the political firmament. Today, the Republican and Democratic parties totally pervade the political process. Approximately two-thirds of Americans consider themselves either Republicans or Democrats, and even those who say that they are independents normally have partisan leanings and exhibit high levels of partisan loyalty. For example, on average 75 percent of independents who "leaned" either toward the Republicans or the Democrats voted for their preferred party's presidential candidate in the five presidential elections held between 1980 and 1996. The p... ...n of "protest" voting for third-party candidates. Gallup polls revealed that in 1992, 5 percent of Perot's voters said they would not vote for him if they thought he could win. Third parties and independent candidates also face a potentially daunting postelection problem in the event they are successful in winning the presidency. This, of course, is the problem of governing — staffing an administration and then working with a Congress dominated by Republicans and Democrats who would have only limited incentives to cooperate with a non-major-party president. John F. Bibby is a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and is the former chairman of the American Political Science Association's political parties subfield. An authority on U.S. politics and government, Bibby has authored Politics, Parties, and Elections in America. Political Parties in the United States Essay -- Papers USA Government Political Parties in the United States When the founders of the American republic wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they did not envision a role for political parties in the governmental order. Indeed, they sought through various constitutional arrangements such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and indirect election of the president by an electoral college to insulate the new republic from political parties and factions. In spite of the founders' intentions, the United States was the first nation to develop parties organized on a national basis and to transfer executive power from one faction to another via an election in 1800. THE EMERGENCE AND PERVASIVENESS OF POLITICAL PARTIES The development of political parties was closely linked to the extension of the suffrage as qualifications requiring property ownership to vote were lifted during the early 1800s. With a vastly expanded electorate, a means was required to mobilize masses of voters. Political parties became institutionalized to accomplish this essential task. Thus parties in America emerged as a part of this democratic revolution, and by the 1830s were a firmly established part of the political firmament. Today, the Republican and Democratic parties totally pervade the political process. Approximately two-thirds of Americans consider themselves either Republicans or Democrats, and even those who say that they are independents normally have partisan leanings and exhibit high levels of partisan loyalty. For example, on average 75 percent of independents who "leaned" either toward the Republicans or the Democrats voted for their preferred party's presidential candidate in the five presidential elections held between 1980 and 1996. The p... ...n of "protest" voting for third-party candidates. Gallup polls revealed that in 1992, 5 percent of Perot's voters said they would not vote for him if they thought he could win. Third parties and independent candidates also face a potentially daunting postelection problem in the event they are successful in winning the presidency. This, of course, is the problem of governing — staffing an administration and then working with a Congress dominated by Republicans and Democrats who would have only limited incentives to cooperate with a non-major-party president. John F. Bibby is a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and is the former chairman of the American Political Science Association's political parties subfield. An authority on U.S. politics and government, Bibby has authored Politics, Parties, and Elections in America.

Procrastination Essay -- essays research papers

Procrastination Procrastination is the act or habits of putting things off till the end out of laziness. Almost every student knows this dreaded word. They know if it becomes a habit, disaster happens with a sharp decline in school grades. But what they don’t realize is that procrastinating can actually benefit you in school. It can make you work harder, faster, and more efficiently on school assignments. Even life skills in the real world can be created from procrastinating. Procrastination can actually help you work harder, faster, and more efficiently. It sounds like an impossible thing, however if you’re like me or any other person that wants a fairly good mark on the next assignment, procrastinating can help you. While your friends are working hard on it, go play, and do the thing... Procrastination Essay -- essays research papers Procrastination Procrastination is the act or habits of putting things off till the end out of laziness. Almost every student knows this dreaded word. They know if it becomes a habit, disaster happens with a sharp decline in school grades. But what they don’t realize is that procrastinating can actually benefit you in school. It can make you work harder, faster, and more efficiently on school assignments. Even life skills in the real world can be created from procrastinating. Procrastination can actually help you work harder, faster, and more efficiently. It sounds like an impossible thing, however if you’re like me or any other person that wants a fairly good mark on the next assignment, procrastinating can help you. While your friends are working hard on it, go play, and do the thing...

Chapter 10 Basic Organizational Design

Chapter 10 Basic Organizational Design Once managers are done planning, then what? This is when managers need to begin to â€Å"work the plan. † And the first step in doing that involves designing an appropriate organizational structure. This chapter covers the decisions involved with designing this structure. Focus on the following learning outcomes as you read and study this chapter. LEARNING OUTCOMES 10. 1 Describe six key elements in organizational design. 10. 2 Contrast mechanistic and organic structures. 10. 3 Discuss the contingency factors that favor either the mechanistic model or the organic model of organizational design. 0. 4 Describe traditional organizational designs. A MANAGER’S DILEMMA How can we design an organizational structure that will help us accomplish our company’s goals? Should our structure be tall or flat? Traditional or contemporary? Will our chosen design enhance our capacity to continuously learn, adapt, and change in a dynamic globa l environment? As tomorrow’s managers, many of your students will soon face these questions. In Chapter 10, students learn about various elements of organizational structure, the contingency factors that influence organizational design, and traditional and contemporary design.In addition, they will study design challenges encountered by managers who work in a variety of organizational structures. â€Å"A Manager’s Dilemma† highlights some of the problems in store for Eli Lilly & Company, a major US pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly & Co. stands to lose $10 billion in annual revenues between now and 2016 as three of its major drug patents expire. As CEO, John Lechleiter’s job is to find foster new drug development to replace the projected loss revenue. While other pharmaceutical companies are seeking a merger route to acquire new drugs, Eli Lilly One has decided to revamp the company’s operational tructure into five global business units and create an improved product research and development center. Students should address other organizational design elements Lechleiter might use to ensure that Lilly achieves its goal of speeding up its product development process? From the information presented here, it appears that Eli Lilly’s has adopted a product structure which offers the advantage of being more responsive to changes in the external environment. Eli Lilly may also want to create more teams in their structure as well as take advantage of technology with virtual teams.CHAPTER OUTLINE INTRODUCTION Designing organizational structure involves the process of organizing (the second management function) and plays an important role in the success of a company. 10. 1 DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Managers need to establish structural designs that will best support and allow employees to do their work effectively and efficiently. Several important terms must be defined in order to understand the elements of organizationa l structure and design: 1. Organizing is arranging and structuring work to accomplish the organization’s goals.This process has several purposes, as shown in Exhibit 10-1. 2. Organizational structure is the formal arrangement of jobs within an organization. 3. Organizational design is developing or changing an organization’s structure. This process involves decisions about six key elements: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization/ decentralization, and formalization. Chapter 10 examines each of these structural elements. A. Work Specialization. Work specialization is dividing work activities into separate job tasks.Most of today’s managers regard work specialization as an important organizing mechanism, but not as a source of ever-increasing productivity. Exhibit 10-2 illustrates the human diseconomies from division of labor—boredom, fatigue, stress, low productivity, poor quality, increased absenteeism, and high turnover— eventually exceed the economic advantages created by work specialization. B. Departmentalization. When work tasks have been defined, they must be arranged in order to accomplish organizational goals.This process, known as departmentalization, is the basis by which jobs are grouped. There are five major ways to departmentalize (see Exhibit 10-3): 1. Functional departmentalization groups jobs by functions performed. 2. Product departmentalization groups jobs by product line. 3. Geographical departmentalization groups jobs on the basis of geographical region. 4. Process departmentalization groups jobs on the basis of product or customer flow. 5. Customer departmentalization groups jobs on the basis of specific and unique customers who have common needs. 6.Popular trends in departmentalization include the following: a. Customer departmentalization continues to be a highly popular approach because it allows better monitoring of customers’ needs and respo nds to changes in the needs of customers. b. Cross-functional teams, which are work teams composed of individuals from various functional specialties, are being used along with traditional departmental arrangements. C. Chain of Command. The chain of command is the line of authority extending from upper organizational levels to the lowest levels, which clarifies who reports to whom.Three concepts related to chain of command are authority, responsibility, and unity of command. 1. Authority is the rights inherent in a managerial position to tell people what to do and to expect them to do it. a. The acceptance theory of authority proposed by Chester Barnard says that authority comes from the willingness of subordinates to accept it. Barnard contended that subordinates will accept orders only if the following conditions are satisfied: 1. They understand the order. 2.They feel the order is consistent with the organization’s purpose. 3. The order does not conflict with their persona l beliefs. 4. They are able to perform the task as directed. b. Line authority entitles a manager to direct the work of an employee. It is the employer–employee authority relationship that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest echelon, according to the chain of command, as shown in Exhibit 10-4. c. Staff authority functions to support, assist, advise, and generally reduce some of their informational burdens.Exhibit 10-5 illustrates line and staff authority. 2. Responsibility is the obligation to perform any assigned duties. 3. Unity of command is the management principle that each person should report to only one manager. D. Span of Control. Span of control is the number of employees a manager can efficiently and effectively manage. 1. The span of control concept is important because it determines how many levels and managers an organization will have. (See Exhibit 10-6 for an example) 2. What determines the â€Å"ideal† span of control?Contingency fac tors such as the skills and abilities of the manager and the employees, the characteristics of the work being done, similarity and complexity of employee tasks, the physical proximity of subordinates, the degree to which standardized procedures are in place, the sophistication of the organization’s information system, the strength of the organization’s culture, and the preferred style of the manager influence the ideal number of subordinates. 3. The trend in recent years has been toward wider (larger) spans of control. E. Centralization and Decentralization.The concepts of centralization and decentralization address who, where, and how decisions are made in organizations. 1. Centralization is the degree to which decision making is concentrated at upper levels of the organization. 2. Decentralization is the degree to which lower-level employees provide input or actually make decisions. 3. The current trend is toward decentralizing decision making in order to make organi zations more flexible and responsive. 4. Employee empowerment is giving employees more authority (power) to make decisions. . A number of factors influence the degree of centralization or decentralization in an organization (see Exhibit 10-7). F. Formalization refers to the degree to which jobs within an organization are standardized and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures. 1. In a highly formalized organization, employees have little discretion, and a high level of consistent and uniform output exists. Formalized organizations have explicit job descriptions, many organizational rules, and clearly defined procedures. 2.In a less-formalized organization, employees have much freedom and can exercise discretion in the way they do their work. 3. Formalization not only fosters relatively unstructured job behaviors, but also eliminates the need for employees to consider alternatives. 4. The degree of formalization can vary widely between organizations a nd even within organizations. 10. 2 MECHANISTIC AND ORGANIC STRUCTURES Organizations do not have identical structures. Even companies of comparable size do not necessarily have similar structures. A. Two Models of Organizational Design. See Exhibit 10-8) 1. A mechanistic organization is an organizational design that is rigid and tightly controlled. It is characterized by high specialization, rigid departmentalization, narrow spans of control, high formalization, a limited information network, and little participation in decision making by lower-level employees. 2. An organic organization is an organizational design that is highly adaptive and flexible. It is characterized by little work specialization, minimal formalization, and little direct supervision of employees. 3.Under what circumstances is each design favored? It â€Å"depends† on contingency variables. 10. 3 CONTINGENCY FACTORS Appropriate organizational structure depends upon four contingency variables: A. Strategy and structure. The organization’s strategy is one of the contingency variables that influences organizational design. 1. Alfred Chandler originated the strategy-structure relationship. His finding that structure follows strategy indicates that as organizations change their strategies, they must change their structure to support that strategy. . Most current strategy/structure frameworks focus on three strategy dimensions: a) Innovation needs the flexibility and free flow of information present in the organic organization. b) Cost minimization needs the efficiency, stability, and tight controls of the mechanistic organization. c) Imitation uses some of the characteristics of both mechanistic and organic organizations. B. Size and structure. Considerable historical evidence indicates that an organization’s size significantly affects its structure.Larger organizations tend to have more specialization, departmentalization, centralization, and formalization, although the si ze-structure relationship is not linear. C. Technology has been shown to affect an organization’s choice of structure. 1. Every organization uses some form of technology to transform inputs into outputs. 2. Joan Woodward’s study of structure and technology shows that organizations adapt to their technology. She found that three distinct technologies have increasing levels of complexity and sophistication. a) Unit production is the production of items in units or small batches. ) Mass production is the production of items in large batches. c) Process production is the production of items in continuous processes. 3. Woodward found in her study of these three groups that distinct relationships exist among these technologies, the subsequent structure of the organization, and the effectiveness of the organization. Exhibit 10-9 and provides a summary of these findings. LEADERS WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE As the first female CEO of Avon, Andrea Jung has held that position for a dec ade—the most-tenured female CEO in the Fortune 500. Ms.Jung clearly understands the importance of organizational design in helping her global company prosper in good times and bad. This part of her job is especially challenging considering that 70 percent of Avon’s sales are in developing countries. Ms. Jung has made tough decisions to restructure, refocus, and redefine the company’s strategies and created an organizational design to help it continue its success as the leading women’s beauty products company. D. Environmental uncertainty and structure Environmental uncertainty is the final contingency factor that has been shown to affect organizational structure.Environmental uncertainty may be managed by making adjustments in the organization’s structure. The more uncertain the environment, the more flexible and responsive the organization needs to be. 10. 4 TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNS A number of different organizational designs can be fou nd in today’s organizations. Exhibit 10-8 summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of each of these designs. A. A simple structure is an organizational design with low departmentaliza-tion, wide spans of control, authority centralized in a single person, and little formalization. . Strengths of the simple structure are its flexibility, speed, clear accountability and low maintenance costs. 2. The major limitation of a simple structure is that it is most effective when used in small organizations. B. As an organization grows, its structure tends to become more specialized and formalized. When contingency factors favor a bureaucratic or mechanistic design, one of the following two options is likely to be used: 1. A functional structure is an organizational design that groups similar or related occupational specialties together. . A divisional structure is an organizational structure made up of separate, semiautonomous units or divisions. LET’S GET REAL: MY RESPONSE Cindy Brewer Customer Contact Channel Manager Sears Holdings Corporation Loves Park, IL Cindy offers several recommendations for Eli Lilly & Company. To better the structure of the organization, she recommends the use of more flexible structures, i. e. a divisional and organic structure, while at the same time including a mechanistic structure to help speed up certain aspects of the drug approval process.Her final recommendation, to ‘create cross-functional teams across the business units to share best practices and key learning to increase the product development process’ is an insightful one in that it leverages the power of teams to aid in the decision making process and at the same time create a learning/innovation based climate. Answers to Review and Discussion Questions 1. Discuss the traditional and contemporary views of each of the six key elements of organizational design. Traditionally, work specialization was viewed as a way to divide work activities into separate job tasks.Today’s view is that it is an important organizing mechanism but it can lead to problems. The chain of command and its companion concepts—authority, responsibility, and unity of command—were viewed as important ways of maintaining control in organizations. The contemporary view is that they are less relevant in today’s organizations. The traditional view of span of control was that managers should directly supervise no more than five to six individuals. The contemporary view is that the span of control depends on the skills and abilities of the manager and the employees and on the characteristics of the situation. . Can an organization’s structure be changed quickly? Why or why not? Should it be changed quickly? Explain. The speed with which structural changes can be implemented depends partly upon an organization’s size. A small organization is usually able to change its structure more rapidly than a larger one because a smaller c ompany has fewer employees who are involved in the restructuring process. However, a large organization can change its structure and often does in response to changing environmental conditions and changing strategies. 3. Contrast mechanistic and organic organizations.A mechanistic organization is a rigid and tightly controlled structure. An organic organization is highly adaptive and flexible. 4. Would you rather work in a mechanistic or an organic organization? Why? Students’ answers to this question will vary. Many students prefer the structure provided by a mechanistic organization, whereas others would be less productive in an organization with structural rigidity. Note that SAL #III. A. 1 â€Å"What Type of Organization Structure Do I Prefer? † addresses whether each of your students would like to work in a bureaucracy (a mechanistic organization).Students might want to revisit this assessment in answering this question. 5. Explain the contingency factors that aff ect organizational design. An organization’s structure should support the strategy. If the strategy changes, the structure also should change. An organization’s size can affect its structure up to a certain point. Once an organization reaches a certain size (usually around 2,000 employees), it’s fairly mechanistic. An organization’s technology can affect its structure. An organic structure is most effective with unit production and process production technology.A mechanistic structure is most effective with mass production technology. The more uncertain an organization’s environment, the more it needs the flexibility of an organic design. 6. Contrast the three traditional organizational designs. A simple structure is one with low departmentalization, wide spans of control, authority centralized in a single person, and little formalization. A functional structure groups similar or related occupational specialties together. A divisional structure is made up of separate business units or divisions. 7.With the availability of advanced information technology that allows an organization’s work to be done anywhere at any time, is organizing still an important managerial function? Why or why not? Although an organization’s work may be done anywhere at any time, organizing remains a vital managerial function because the work that must be accomplished still must be divided, grouped, and coordinated. 8. Researchers are now saying that efforts to simplify work tasks actually have negative results for both companies and their employees. Do you agree? Why or why not? Studies as far back as 1924 show that simplified jobs lead to boredom.In 1950 other researchers found that highly segmented and simplified jobs resulted in lower employee morale and output. Other consequences of low employee motivation include absenteeism and high employee turnover, both very costly for businesses. ETHICS DILEMMA Shortly after the BP oil spill, B P engaged in a campaign to improve their image including buying domain names that referred to terms like ‘oil spill’ and ‘oil spill claims. ’ A company spokeswoman said â€Å"the strategy is to assist those who are most impacted and help them find the right forms and the right people quickly and effectively. Is this an ethical issue? What ethical concerns do students see in BP doing this? What stakeholders might be affected by BP’s actions (buying the search terms)? In what ways might these stakeholders be affected? While some students may not see this as unethical, there is a question as to whether BP acquired the domain names to better inform the public or to control information access. By controlling information, BP could put their ‘spin’ on events or even keep the domain names idle so that they could not be used by others to distribute negative information about the company actions.Ultimately, with a disaster as large as this one, t here were many stakeholders affected – fisherman, rig workers, hotel owners, management, and employees. Without access to information, these stakeholders may be unaware of their rights to sue or file claims against BP. SKILLS EXERCISE: DEVELOPING YOUR EMPOWERING PEOPLE (DELEGATING) SKILLS A manager’s job is to do things through other people. This requires that a manager learn to trust and empower those they supervise. In this exercise, the author gives five behaviors for effective delegation.Students are to then to read through the scenario and write a paper describing how they would handle the situation described. In the scenario, Ann is already following several of guidelines given for recommendation, by clarifying the assignment and allowing Ricky to participate. In Ricky’s meeting with Bill, he will have to follow his Boss’s lead and follow the recommendations as well. He should first clarify the assignment and what Bill will be able to include (and n ot include) in the manual. It will also be a good idea if Ricky and Bill get other employees’ input on the policy manual – since it will be used by everyone in the organization.Finally, Ricky should establish a feedback channel so that Bill can ask questions and Ricky can keep tract of Bill’s progress. WORKING TOGETHER: TEAM EXERCISE Form groups of three to four students and have each group choose an organization with which students in the group are familiar (where students work, a student organization to which they belong, your college or university, etc. ). Have students draw an organization chart of this organization. Students should show departments (or groups) and especially be careful to get the chain of command correct.Students should be prepared to share their chart with the class. If this is done outside of class as an assignment, it may be a good idea to have students use Microsoft PowerPoint to prepare the chart. PowerPoint has an option to draw organ izational charts in the Smartart menu. Your Turn to be a Manager †¢ Find three different examples of organizational charts. In a report, describe each of them. Try to decipher the organization’s use of organizational design elements, especially departmentalization, chain of command, centralization–decentralization, and formalization. Survey at least 10 different managers about how many employees they supervise. Also ask them whether they feel they could supervise more employees or whether they feel the number they supervise is too many. Graph your survey results and write a report describing what you found. Draw some conclusions about span of control. †¢ Draw an organizational chart of an organization with which you’re familiar (where you work, a student organization to which you belong, your college or university, etc. ). Be very careful in showing the departments (or groups) and especially be careful to get the chain of command correct.Be prepared to share your chart with the class. †¢ Using the organizational chart you just created, redesign the organization’s structure. What structural changes might make this organization more efficient and effective? Write a report describing what you would do and why. Be sure to include an example of the original organizational chart as well as a chart of your proposed revision of the organizational structure. †¢ Steve’s and Mary’s suggested readings: Gary Hamel, The Future of Management (Harvard Business School Press, 2007); Thomas Friedman, The World Is Flat 3. (Picador, 2007); Harold J. Leavitt, Top Down: Why Hierarchies Are Here to Stay and How to Manage Them More Effectively (Harvard Business School Press, 2005); and Thomas W. Malone, The Future of Work (Harvard Business School Press, 2004). †¢ Choose one of the three topics discussed in the section on today’s organizational design challenges. Research this topic and write a paper about it. Fo cus on finding current information and current examples of companies dealing with these issues. †¢ In your own words, write down three things you learned in this chapter about being a good manager. Self-knowledge can be a powerful learning tool. Go to mymanagementlab and complete these self-assessment exercises: How Well Do I Handle Ambiguity? What Type of Organizational Structure Do I Prefer? How Good Am I at Playing Politics? How Willing Am I to Delegate? Using the results of your assessments, identify personal strengths and weaknesses. What will you do to reinforce your strengths and improve your weaknesses? Answers to Case Application Questions Ask Chuck 1. Describe and evaluate what Charles Schwab is doing. It is easy for a company to lose sight of their goals.While other lines of business may be potential money makers, going beyond a firm’s core competence can lead a firm into financial trouble. In this case, students should see how Charles Schwab has stayed true t o its primary business – making stock trades for investors who make their own financial decisions. Another goal of Schwab is customer service. In the example of Cheryl Pasquale, we can see how she uses the company’s information system to closely monitor her sales representatives to make sure they are meeting the needs of customers. 2.How might the company’s culture of not buying into hype and not taking excessive risks affect its organizational structural design? Schwab’s conservative culture would foster a simple structure characterized by low departmentalization, wide spans of control, centralized authority, and little formalization. This structure fast, flexible, inexpensive to maintain and has clear lines of accountability. 3. What structural implications—good and bad—might Schwab’s intense focus on customer feedback have? Schwab’s focus on customer feedback would indicate a flexible structure that is able to adapt to meet customer demands.This structure would allow employees to spend more time and energy devoted to improving relationships with customers and possibly provide for exceptions to improve customer satisfaction. On the other hand, building strong customer relationships takes time and money. By paying so much attention to the customer there is the potential loss of efficiency that Schwab has to maintain to keep stock transactions low. 4. Do you think this arrangement would work for other types of organizations? Why or why not? This type of customer focus would not work well for firms that operate on a thin margin.For example, manufacturing firms that operate in the maturity phase of the industry life cycle focus on keeping production costs as low as possible. This arrangement may also not work well in situations where organizations are set up around processes. A New Kind of Structure 1. Describe and evaluate what Pfizer is doing. What Jordan Cohen has created at Pfizer is a network organizat ion. It’s a form of the boundaryless organization structure where company employees concentrate on the important aspects of the job, i. e. hose elements that are related to the company’s core competencies, and other tasks are outsourced to another organization. 2. What structural implications—good and bad—does this approach have? (Think in terms of the six organizational design elements. ) Have students break into groups and discuss how the advantages and disadvantages of using a network organizational structure from the perspective of: †¢ Work Specialization †¢ Departmentalization †¢ Chain Of Command †¢ Span Of Control †¢ Centralization And Decentralization †¢ Formalization Some groups may be assigned more than one design element.For more information on Pfizer’s new structure, go to the web 3. Do you think this arrangement would work for other types of organizations? Why or why not? The network organization design use d by Pfizer has helped to balance recent layoffs the company experienced after a nearly $4 billion yearly budget cut. According to managers in the Fast Company article, the OOF has cut some project costs by 100%. While this program has been a success for Pfizer, it may not be realistic for other companies that either (a) have not experienced such deep cuts in personnel, or (b) have such high personnel costs. . What role do you think organizational structure plays in an organization’s efficiency and effectiveness? Explain. Organizational structure plays a key role in enabling a company to function smoothly, to remain responsive to its internal and external stakeholders, and to adapt to changes in the marketplace. Innovation is facilitated by fewer layers of management, and students have already learned that the survival and success of a company is usually dependent upon its ability to function as a learning organization that promotes innovation.